EMERGING MARKETS-LatAm markets up as trade war fears subside

4 Min Read

By Bruno Federowski
BRASILIA, March 6 (Reuters) - Latin American markets rose on
Tuesday as U.S. President Donald Trump's plan to slap tariffs on
some imports faced lawmaker opposition, allaying concerns of a
trade war.
Trump's proposals triggered a widespread market sell-off
last week as investors worried about retaliation from countries
expected to be hit most by the planned tariffs. They included
Canada, Brazil, South Korea, China and the European Union, with
the EU also threatened with a tax on cars.
But Trump faced growing pressure from political and
diplomatic allies, as well as U.S. companies, to pull back from
the proposal, driving a widespread recovery in global appetite
for risk.
"Trump doesn't have the support even of his own party, he is
all by himself in defending protectionism," economists at
SulAmérica Investimentos brokerage wrote in a report.
All of Latin America's stock markets and currencies were up
on Tuesday, with MSCI's index for equities in the region
hitting a one-week high.
Shares of steelmakers, such as Brazil's Usinas Siderúrgicas
Nacionais SA, Cia Siderúrgica Nacional SA
and Chile's CAP SA, were among the biggest gainers,
rebounding from the recent selloff.
Still, shares in Brazilian food processor BRF SA
extended losses for a second day, after police unveiled an
investigation on Monday over suspected fraud to evade food
safety checks.
Latin American currencies strengthened across the board,
with the Brazilian real up 0.8 percent and the Mexican
peso firming 0.5 percent.
Appetite for emerging market currencies also got a boost
from a historic agreement between North and South Korea on
direct talks.
North and South Korea, still technically at war but enjoying
easing tension since the Winter Olympics in the South last
month, will hold their first summit in more than a decade next
month, South Korea said on Tuesday.
Key Latin American stock indexes and currencies at 1530 GMT:
Stock indexes daily % YTD %
Latest change change
MSCI Emerging Markets 1198.14 1.87 1.53
MSCI LatAm 3131.39 1.48 9.11
Brazil Bovespa 86424.80 0.47 13.12
Mexico IPC 48114.90 0.83 -2.51
Chile IPSA 5560.64 0.4 -0.07
Chile IGPA 27856.11 0.33 -0.45
Argentina MerVal 32672.49 1.68 8.67
Colombia IGBC 11414.79 0.25 0.39
Currencies daily % YTD %
change change
Latest
Brazil real 3.2224 0.78 2.82
Mexico peso 18.7000 0.49 5.34
Chile peso 595.48 0.42 3.22
Colombia peso 2842.61 0.32 4.90
Peru sol 3.248 0.12 -0.34
Argentina peso (interbank) 20.1800 0.20 -7.83
Argentina peso (parallel) 20.25 0.15 -5.04
(Reporting by Bruno Federowski
Editing by Nick Zieminski)